# The Birth of John the Baptist \(detail\) [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [TINTORETTO, Jacopo]() - Date: 1551-1600 - Technique: Oil on canvas ## Commentary The Birth of John the Baptist \(detail\) c. 1554 Oil on canvas The Hermitage, St. Petersburg Tintoretto's oeuvre is marked by a keen sense of chaos.In any subject he finds many disconnected actions. This is true of his account of the birth of St John the Baptist, which becomes an eloquent depiction of the turmoil reigning in any home at the birth of a child. The saint's mother, Elizabeth, recuperates on the bed and the Virgin Mary holds the newborn as his father recovers the power of speech, in accordance with the prophecy. ## Related artworks - [A Philosopher \(detail\)]() - [A Philosopher]() - [Allegory of Faith]() - [Allegory of Fortune \(Felicità\)]() - [Allegory of Generosity]() - [Allegory of Goodness]() - [Allegory of Happiness]() - [Allegory of the Scuola della Carità]() - [Allegory of the Scuola della Misericordia]() - [Allegory of the Scuola di San Giovanni Evangelista]() - [Allegory of the Scuola di San Marco]() - [Allegory of the Scuola di San Teodoro]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()